What's up!? I asked a similar question almost a week ago with only about 4 responses (thanks again Mercuttio--I can't stress enough, especially given only 4 responses)...and this guy gets 4 pages!?
The answer is at the bottom in bold.
Perhaps it was starting off with the longest post ever. Or not saying "Grado"
.
Anyway, to the original poster, and those interested, I've tried out over 20 pairs of headphones in the past week. If they did not have bass, I stopped listening.
These included many of those recommended: DT-770, Sony 750x (small footprint / earprint ones), HD280, AKG K26P, Koss 75.
I don't remember the rest but here's the basic final results (which I was going to post in MY original post but no one read it so why not here, at least for now).
DT-770 did not produce enough bass, period. Needs an amp maybe. There was some bass somewhere, but not deep bass. It was accurate though.
750x did not either. No amp required. More bass than your average.
There were a pair of Sonys that looked like V600s but were $220 at Sam Ash--these would have been my choice but they were Sony (Sony=poor quality, breaks easily) and they were $220. If they had another name and were $220, I would have considered. But they had bass. Still not enough though.
HD280 are awful. I'd pick a pair of Grados or higher end Sennheisers over these. These just are relatively accurate, but really...sound unmusical and awful. They may be decent hi-fi headphones, but not bass at all.
AKG-26P are not good. The earpieces don't go over your ears well (I'd say I have small ears) and the bass is not powerful enough. How could you get good bass out of those small drivers anyway?? The rest of the range didn't compare to...the Koss, really. These sounded muffled.
Koss 75s I had to try because of the recommendations. Did not have enough bass, but the other thread which prompted me to try them suggested comparable performance to Grado. I'd say considering the price, yes. IF you press them really close to your head or wear a rubber band around your head while listening, they sound pretty good. This makes me wonder how the PortaPros sound. (related drivers).
I also tried the Grado 60s and 80s. To the above poster who said they are similar--incorrect. I went on this bass journey 5 or so years ago looking for the same thing and it must have been the 80s I tried when I decided "Grados are awful, I'll never buy a pair". Because I tried the 60s and found they have more bass. I never remember them having bass at all--just enough treble to make my ears tired within seconds. Pretty decent for a hi-fi pair of headphones, and possibly my choice for the first pair of hi-fi. 80s likely needed an amp.
OP, it is true, you are asking a bunch of people whose bias is likely toward hi-fi for a non-hi fi answer. You will find that this is many people's point of reference here. No offense to anyone, btw.
So, expect to hear suggestions of anything Grado or Sennheiser before you ever hear anything Sony or anything else really.
And anything over $100.
Oh yeah, the *answer* to the question is:
Sennheiser HD212pro. Period. No questions about it. I'm coming from a pair of Stanton DJ Pro 60s which provided good bass but after listening to a pair of AKG K66s I discovered something: I'm missing everything but the bass.
212s have massive bass--more than all above from a portable cd player, and they also have some treble and seem to sound decent.
Annoying that I *now* discover this, as these were one of the pairs I was thinking to try last time (5 years ago when I chose the Stanton) and I could have just bought them then--but it took until now to try them out because they were in a plastic package I thought would have to be cut to be opened.
Man.
Also the 5ebs but those are $150 at least, and I wouldn't try because they require insertion into the ear (fits one of your criteria OP, technically) and this means problems for me--I'd have to put them in and take them out too often and did not want to have to change sleeves or clean my hands every time.
All this has given me mild tinnitus which is really unfortunate. I haven't had even mild tinnitus since a long long time ago. So I'm reluctant to go forth and purchase the 212pros, if I may lose my hearing.